Shanna Swendson's Blog, page 207
March 13, 2013
Love for a Difficult Book
I got sort of back in the swing of writing yesterday, spending a couple of intense hours on revisions. At this phase, it's not so much about rewriting as it is about evaluating what's there and seriously considering whether or not it works or if there's a way to do it better. I'm also making tiny tweaks, like tightening up the dialogue. The main purpose of this draft is to make sure that whatever changes I made in the last round actually work.
And I'm finding that I still love this book. I find myself wallowing in it, practically reveling in it. I've already decided that if a publisher doesn't buy it, I'm self publishing this one. My agent said she loves it, so I'm not entirely delusional about my love for this book. She just admits that finding the right market for it in traditional publishing may be a challenge. It's sort of "light" fantasy with almost no grit whatsoever, so it may be a tough sell to fantasy houses. There are romantic elements, but none of the relationships are fully resolved and there's no sex, so the romance imprints won't be even remotely interested. It might play as "women's fiction" but there I think it would have the same problem as my other series had when published in that category, where the people most likely to want to read it (the fantasy readers) wouldn't easily find it. We're probably going to go after both fantasy and women's fiction editors at the same time and see who bites.
At any rate, I think the next project I tackle will be the sequel to this book. It'll be fresh in my head after doing the final touches, and if it sells, I'll already have the sequel ready to go. If it doesn't sell, I'll already have the sequel ready to e-publish.
Meanwhile, I'm using the March TV downtime to marathon the first two seasons of Game of Thrones before the new one starts. I read the whole series to-date since the last season was on, and now I'm not clear on what happened in the show as opposed to what happened in the books. Plus, having read the books, it's interesting watching the series with the knowledge of what will happen. It makes good background noise for knitting. I have more than a foot of my blanket done. It also finally clicked for me how the pattern works, and knowing this should help minimize mistakes because I'll always know where I am. It is getting a little more challenging to manage when there's that much material hanging off the needles. I can just see how tangled I might get when I'm close to the end.
And I'm finding that I still love this book. I find myself wallowing in it, practically reveling in it. I've already decided that if a publisher doesn't buy it, I'm self publishing this one. My agent said she loves it, so I'm not entirely delusional about my love for this book. She just admits that finding the right market for it in traditional publishing may be a challenge. It's sort of "light" fantasy with almost no grit whatsoever, so it may be a tough sell to fantasy houses. There are romantic elements, but none of the relationships are fully resolved and there's no sex, so the romance imprints won't be even remotely interested. It might play as "women's fiction" but there I think it would have the same problem as my other series had when published in that category, where the people most likely to want to read it (the fantasy readers) wouldn't easily find it. We're probably going to go after both fantasy and women's fiction editors at the same time and see who bites.
At any rate, I think the next project I tackle will be the sequel to this book. It'll be fresh in my head after doing the final touches, and if it sells, I'll already have the sequel ready to go. If it doesn't sell, I'll already have the sequel ready to e-publish.
Meanwhile, I'm using the March TV downtime to marathon the first two seasons of Game of Thrones before the new one starts. I read the whole series to-date since the last season was on, and now I'm not clear on what happened in the show as opposed to what happened in the books. Plus, having read the books, it's interesting watching the series with the knowledge of what will happen. It makes good background noise for knitting. I have more than a foot of my blanket done. It also finally clicked for me how the pattern works, and knowing this should help minimize mistakes because I'll always know where I am. It is getting a little more challenging to manage when there's that much material hanging off the needles. I can just see how tangled I might get when I'm close to the end.
March 12, 2013
Book Report: Romance vs. Romantic
In spite of my good intentions, I ended up treating yesterday as a break day, anyway. I think a lot of it was the time change -- I generally start writing work in the late afternoon, and that came later, so the quality of light didn't quite hit the spot that triggered my work impulse. It also doesn't help that I don't feel a lot of urgency about anything at the moment. I heard from my new editor and got the planned work schedule for that book, so I've figured out what I'm going to be working on and when for the rest of the year. I guess that was the main bit of work I did yesterday. But I did start getting some ideas to incorporate into the revisions I need to work on, so it wasn't a totally wasted day.
It's been a while since I discussed a book, mostly because I was reading a book that took me forever to finish. I'm not entirely certain if that's the book's fault or because at the same time I was getting sidetracked by crocheting and knitting, organizing my office and getting a book finished. I'd grabbed something off the To Be Read shelf, and I think it was just what I needed for that time in that it was a pleasant read but not a stay-up-all-night page turner. I could read a chapter or two before bed and turn out the light.
But the real point of interest to me was a cultural comparison. I ranted a while ago about what I don't like about today's romance novels. This book was a British book I got from a former boss's wife when they were getting rid of stuff before a move (they were Australian, but I think they'd been at the London office previously and all the books she gave me were British publications). According to the cover, this was voted the Romantic Novel of the Year. It's from the late 80s, but it's very different from American romance novels even of that era.
The book is The Peacock's Feather by Sarah Woodhouse, though I would suspect it's difficult to find a copy. The set-up would sound familiar to any reader of historical romances -- Our Heroine grew up in the local manor house, but when her father died, the estate had to be sold to pay off debts, and at the same time, her fiance, who was the heir to the neighboring estate, broke off the engagement. She's had to live on the kindness of a friend since then, and she's grown somewhat bitter and aloof from her experiences. Then a man from Jamaica who made his fortune as a privateer buys her old family estate, moves in and starts making improvements. If you've ever read a romance novel, you pretty much know what will happen.
Except, not so much. In an American romance novel, they'd hate each other on sight while also being strongly physically attracted to each other. There would be lots of bickering and fighting until they gave in to the attraction and had lots of sex. That's not what happens here. For one thing, the primary viewpoint character isn't either of the romantic parties. He's a third party (who is apparently a recurring character in this author's books), a doctor who has become friends with the new owner and who observes the developing relationship between the two of them. Another difference from an American novel of this type is that we don't even meet the heroine until well into the book. First we meet the romantic hero through the doctor's eyes, get to know him and travel with him to his new estate. He expects her to be testy about his improvements to her old home, but she turns out to be okay with them. She's mostly just so burned by the way she's been treated that she's wary of him until he really proves to be a decent human being. The developing romance is very slow and subtle and plays out against a lot of other goings on in the community.
I wonder if this is a cultural/publishing industry difference or if in England there's a distinction between a "romantic" novel and a "romance" novel. This seems to me to be more historical fiction with strong romantic elements than "romance." I probably enjoyed it more than I might have enjoyed the American romance take on it, though I will admit that the pace was awfully languid. Sometimes you need a book you can read a page or two of before turning out the light, but that's not usually something spoken of as a positive in reviews. "Page turner" is considered a good thing. "A nice book you can put down in time to get some sleep" isn't considered a recommendation (even if it's what you might need). I have a few more books on the shelf that came in that bundle, so I'll have to see if there's a pattern -- but then it may also be selection bias because all the books came from the same person. Are there any Brits/readers of British-published books who can chime in on this? Is there a British equivalent to the American "bodice ripper" historical romances that's different from this kind of "romantic" novel?
It's been a while since I discussed a book, mostly because I was reading a book that took me forever to finish. I'm not entirely certain if that's the book's fault or because at the same time I was getting sidetracked by crocheting and knitting, organizing my office and getting a book finished. I'd grabbed something off the To Be Read shelf, and I think it was just what I needed for that time in that it was a pleasant read but not a stay-up-all-night page turner. I could read a chapter or two before bed and turn out the light.
But the real point of interest to me was a cultural comparison. I ranted a while ago about what I don't like about today's romance novels. This book was a British book I got from a former boss's wife when they were getting rid of stuff before a move (they were Australian, but I think they'd been at the London office previously and all the books she gave me were British publications). According to the cover, this was voted the Romantic Novel of the Year. It's from the late 80s, but it's very different from American romance novels even of that era.
The book is The Peacock's Feather by Sarah Woodhouse, though I would suspect it's difficult to find a copy. The set-up would sound familiar to any reader of historical romances -- Our Heroine grew up in the local manor house, but when her father died, the estate had to be sold to pay off debts, and at the same time, her fiance, who was the heir to the neighboring estate, broke off the engagement. She's had to live on the kindness of a friend since then, and she's grown somewhat bitter and aloof from her experiences. Then a man from Jamaica who made his fortune as a privateer buys her old family estate, moves in and starts making improvements. If you've ever read a romance novel, you pretty much know what will happen.
Except, not so much. In an American romance novel, they'd hate each other on sight while also being strongly physically attracted to each other. There would be lots of bickering and fighting until they gave in to the attraction and had lots of sex. That's not what happens here. For one thing, the primary viewpoint character isn't either of the romantic parties. He's a third party (who is apparently a recurring character in this author's books), a doctor who has become friends with the new owner and who observes the developing relationship between the two of them. Another difference from an American novel of this type is that we don't even meet the heroine until well into the book. First we meet the romantic hero through the doctor's eyes, get to know him and travel with him to his new estate. He expects her to be testy about his improvements to her old home, but she turns out to be okay with them. She's mostly just so burned by the way she's been treated that she's wary of him until he really proves to be a decent human being. The developing romance is very slow and subtle and plays out against a lot of other goings on in the community.
I wonder if this is a cultural/publishing industry difference or if in England there's a distinction between a "romantic" novel and a "romance" novel. This seems to me to be more historical fiction with strong romantic elements than "romance." I probably enjoyed it more than I might have enjoyed the American romance take on it, though I will admit that the pace was awfully languid. Sometimes you need a book you can read a page or two of before turning out the light, but that's not usually something spoken of as a positive in reviews. "Page turner" is considered a good thing. "A nice book you can put down in time to get some sleep" isn't considered a recommendation (even if it's what you might need). I have a few more books on the shelf that came in that bundle, so I'll have to see if there's a pattern -- but then it may also be selection bias because all the books came from the same person. Are there any Brits/readers of British-published books who can chime in on this? Is there a British equivalent to the American "bodice ripper" historical romances that's different from this kind of "romantic" novel?
March 11, 2013
Getting Lost
The trouble with spending a few days having a real life away from the Internet is that the Internet keeps going in my absence, so I have even more to catch up on when I return to the computer.
It's spring break around here, which normally wouldn't affect me, but it means all my extracurricular activities are on hold for the week, and that puts me in spring break mindset. I don't have urgent writing work to do, but I do have business stuff I should start taking care of, even if I really just want to spend the day reading and knitting. I don't think I'm that affected by the time change. Oddly enough, I woke up at the same time, by the clock, as I did before the change (which means I automatically woke up an hour earlier). I'm thinking of going out of town later this week, so I can't just declare today a break day.
I had a splendid day of hiking on Friday. You know it's been a good day when your jeans are muddy from the knees down. I'm going to have to take them out to the back porch and give them a good shaking/beating before I can wash them, and I may need to run them on their own through a cycle before I put them in the washer with anything else. There was even a time when I wasn't entirely sure where we were because we'd had to weave around enough obstacles that I lost my bearings. We had GPS, so we weren't really lost, and in that area, there's a river on one side, levee on one side, a field (and I think a canal) on one end, and highway on the other end, so you'll eventually run into something that tells you where you are, but I'm not sure I could have just started walking and ended up where I wanted to be. But then I figured out that I could navigate by Southwest Airlines. We were under the flight path to Love Field, and the planes were following the same path, every few minutes. I just had to wait for a plane to fly over and then orient myself to the angle where I'd seen the planes the last time I knew where I was. And from there, I had a good sense of where to go. There's something strangely reassuring about that, and there's something nice about getting really lost and then getting reoriented. It's like rebooting the brain.
Now I'm going to take care of a few things on my to-do list and let myself relax after that.
It's spring break around here, which normally wouldn't affect me, but it means all my extracurricular activities are on hold for the week, and that puts me in spring break mindset. I don't have urgent writing work to do, but I do have business stuff I should start taking care of, even if I really just want to spend the day reading and knitting. I don't think I'm that affected by the time change. Oddly enough, I woke up at the same time, by the clock, as I did before the change (which means I automatically woke up an hour earlier). I'm thinking of going out of town later this week, so I can't just declare today a break day.
I had a splendid day of hiking on Friday. You know it's been a good day when your jeans are muddy from the knees down. I'm going to have to take them out to the back porch and give them a good shaking/beating before I can wash them, and I may need to run them on their own through a cycle before I put them in the washer with anything else. There was even a time when I wasn't entirely sure where we were because we'd had to weave around enough obstacles that I lost my bearings. We had GPS, so we weren't really lost, and in that area, there's a river on one side, levee on one side, a field (and I think a canal) on one end, and highway on the other end, so you'll eventually run into something that tells you where you are, but I'm not sure I could have just started walking and ended up where I wanted to be. But then I figured out that I could navigate by Southwest Airlines. We were under the flight path to Love Field, and the planes were following the same path, every few minutes. I just had to wait for a plane to fly over and then orient myself to the angle where I'd seen the planes the last time I knew where I was. And from there, I had a good sense of where to go. There's something strangely reassuring about that, and there's something nice about getting really lost and then getting reoriented. It's like rebooting the brain.
Now I'm going to take care of a few things on my to-do list and let myself relax after that.
March 8, 2013
The Joy of a Clean House
Public service reminders of the day: Remember the time change is this weekend. Also, tonight Grimm is back! It's been gone so long that this is like a season premiere. I've rewatched the last few episodes OnDemand, so I remember what was going on, but it seems like forever since we had new episodes.
My house is now more or less livably clean. It's not quite party clean or even visit from Mom clean, but it's at the point where I can sit on the sofa with a book and not feel the nagging sense that I should be doing housework. Every time I get my house clean, I realize how much I enjoy it this way and wonder why I don't keep it this way. I think the reason is that while I like the house being clean, I'd rather read, write, sleep, watch TV, talk about TV on the Internet or do any of a dozen other things rather than do housework. I'm not quite at the financial level where I can hire a maid, and I'm not sure how well that would work anyway. I don't like the idea of someone else messing with my stuff, and I'd feel compelled to clean frantically before the maid arrived so she wouldn't think I was a slob. Maybe someday I'll get to the point of having a monthly cleaner to do the heavy-duty stuff, which might motivate me to keep things moderately neat in between times.
The upstairs is still a disaster because of being midway through the office reorg project. And I still need to do a good spring cleaning. But I've made a start and I can relax this weekend. Well, sort of. It's a busy weekend. Today, hiking. Tomorrow, a gathering with friends. But when I'm home, I can relax, read and knit.
Now off to gather my hiking gear. It's a perfect day for it, just the right balance between warm and cool and a little overcast. It feels kind of like England. Though if we run into sheep or a castle, I'll be worried. Armadillos, yes. Sheep, no.
My house is now more or less livably clean. It's not quite party clean or even visit from Mom clean, but it's at the point where I can sit on the sofa with a book and not feel the nagging sense that I should be doing housework. Every time I get my house clean, I realize how much I enjoy it this way and wonder why I don't keep it this way. I think the reason is that while I like the house being clean, I'd rather read, write, sleep, watch TV, talk about TV on the Internet or do any of a dozen other things rather than do housework. I'm not quite at the financial level where I can hire a maid, and I'm not sure how well that would work anyway. I don't like the idea of someone else messing with my stuff, and I'd feel compelled to clean frantically before the maid arrived so she wouldn't think I was a slob. Maybe someday I'll get to the point of having a monthly cleaner to do the heavy-duty stuff, which might motivate me to keep things moderately neat in between times.
The upstairs is still a disaster because of being midway through the office reorg project. And I still need to do a good spring cleaning. But I've made a start and I can relax this weekend. Well, sort of. It's a busy weekend. Today, hiking. Tomorrow, a gathering with friends. But when I'm home, I can relax, read and knit.
Now off to gather my hiking gear. It's a perfect day for it, just the right balance between warm and cool and a little overcast. It feels kind of like England. Though if we run into sheep or a castle, I'll be worried. Armadillos, yes. Sheep, no.
March 7, 2013
General Catch-Up
Next week is spring break, so I have a week off from the kids (and from all my other activities), and thank goodness because I just about lost it with them last night. There's the one girl who starts talking every time I open my mouth. I had to do the "you can't listen while you're talking" lecture and ask her what I'd just said that she'd totally missed because she started chattering as soon as I started giving instructions. Then even one of the good kids was being a pain when I was taking them in small groups to the bathroom to wash the glue off their hands after they did a craft project. She started to run off down the hall on her own while I was still with the other kids in the bathroom. I had to resort to the mean voice to get her to come back.
Of course, next time they'll be hyper after coming back from spring break, so that will be even more fun, and we're singing in church the Sunday after that. I may need the cattle prod. I may possibly be counting down the number of weeks until we end for the summer (8 actual sessions, plus one night of the program for the parents).
I have about four inches of my blanket knitted (out of a targeted 44), and I'm finding I'm more likely to make mistakes on the rows of straight purling than on the complicated pattern rows. That may be because I carefully mark out the spots for each pattern repetition and then count stitches afterward to make sure I made the right number, but I think I can just purl straight across without thinking about it. A couple of times I've somehow dropped a stitch there, and once I managed to get in an extra stitch when the yarn had frayed a bit and I thought it was two separate stitches instead of just one. I may have to leave in the markers and count stitches between markers even on the "simple" rows. But I have figured out how to find exactly where a stitch went wrong by looking at the pattern, so I've been able to recover each time. There's a strangely gratifying sense of accomplishment about doing this project as I see it take shape. I can see how this becomes addictive.
But today is house cleaning day. I've made a lot of progress in bits and pieces, and that's made me aware of just how bad things were. I'd built a nice little nest on the sofa from the spiral notebooks for writing projects, newspapers with crossword puzzles still undone, books and knitting/crochet supplies. Meanwhile, all the remnants of the last cold were on the coffee table, with a pharmacy full of medications. I'm looking forward to a lazy Sunday of catching up on my reading, and it will be nice to have the living room in proper order when I do so. That will also make things easier next week when I go back into serious writing mode.
The office reorganization, however, remains a work in progress. I got really sidetracked, so things stalled at a bad place. Come to think of it, the last time I got started reorganizing the office, I sold a book midway through and the project stalled. Apparently, trying to clean out my office is my lucky charm. I may never have a clean, organized office, but I'll make a living as a writer.
Of course, next time they'll be hyper after coming back from spring break, so that will be even more fun, and we're singing in church the Sunday after that. I may need the cattle prod. I may possibly be counting down the number of weeks until we end for the summer (8 actual sessions, plus one night of the program for the parents).
I have about four inches of my blanket knitted (out of a targeted 44), and I'm finding I'm more likely to make mistakes on the rows of straight purling than on the complicated pattern rows. That may be because I carefully mark out the spots for each pattern repetition and then count stitches afterward to make sure I made the right number, but I think I can just purl straight across without thinking about it. A couple of times I've somehow dropped a stitch there, and once I managed to get in an extra stitch when the yarn had frayed a bit and I thought it was two separate stitches instead of just one. I may have to leave in the markers and count stitches between markers even on the "simple" rows. But I have figured out how to find exactly where a stitch went wrong by looking at the pattern, so I've been able to recover each time. There's a strangely gratifying sense of accomplishment about doing this project as I see it take shape. I can see how this becomes addictive.
But today is house cleaning day. I've made a lot of progress in bits and pieces, and that's made me aware of just how bad things were. I'd built a nice little nest on the sofa from the spiral notebooks for writing projects, newspapers with crossword puzzles still undone, books and knitting/crochet supplies. Meanwhile, all the remnants of the last cold were on the coffee table, with a pharmacy full of medications. I'm looking forward to a lazy Sunday of catching up on my reading, and it will be nice to have the living room in proper order when I do so. That will also make things easier next week when I go back into serious writing mode.
The office reorganization, however, remains a work in progress. I got really sidetracked, so things stalled at a bad place. Come to think of it, the last time I got started reorganizing the office, I sold a book midway through and the project stalled. Apparently, trying to clean out my office is my lucky charm. I may never have a clean, organized office, but I'll make a living as a writer.
March 6, 2013
Using Feedback
In my writing posts, I've been talking about getting critiques. I think the most important thing to learn about having your work critiqued is how to take criticism -- and I'm not talking about learning not to have a total hissy fit if someone dares say something negative about your work (though that is important, too). When you get feedback on your work, you have to learn how to use it.
The thing you need to remember -- and the reason I'm not totally on board with the idea that everyone absolutely must have someone else read your work -- is that anyone you give your work to for critique is human and therefore fallible. Even professional editors can make mistakes or make suggestions that would be bad for your book. I've had very good editors, and they've all at some point made suggestions that would have been fatal to the book if I'd followed them. Nobody knows or understands your story like you do, and ultimately, it is your book. Professionals may also disagree with each other because they have different opinions of what works. Learning to discern what suggestions to take and how to use the feedback you're given may be even more difficult than editing your own work. Accepting every suggestion you're given because you assume that the person giving feedback knows more than you is just as bad as refusing to accept feedback because you know your work is perfect the way it is.
Here are some ways I deal with feedback from editors, my agent or beta readers:
First, seriously consider each suggestion. You may need to take some time to scoff at it and get the sense of being insulted out of your system, but do this in private, not on Facebook or Twitter.
Consider whether the suggestion is definitively right or wrong -- is it based on something incorrect like a fact or grammar or does it violate a rule you've established for your fictional world? Would making this correction create an error?
If it would be an error, are you dealing with an incorrect assumption somewhere -- you didn't lay out the rules of your fictional world as clearly as you thought you did or your fact is little-known and the common knowledge (that most of your readers will be working from) is in error?
Would making the suggested change alter your intended meaning? If so, can you see why the change was suggested (perhaps your writing was too wordy or something else was unclear) and make a different change to accomplish that while maintaining your intended meaning? I often find that "wrong" suggestions result from me not being clear elsewhere.
Do suggested edits fit your voice or your characters' voices? That one word may take the place of several and tighten things up nicely, but it won't work if it's not a word your character would use.
Are suggested plot changes consistent with your characters, the situation you've established, the rules of your fictional world and with the tone of your story?
If I decide not to accept a suggestion, I make myself defend my decision. I may even do so out loud, as though I'm talking to the person who made the suggestion. This is not a writing phase I suggest doing in a coffee shop. For big changes suggested by editors, I've been known to write essays explaining why I can't do what they suggested. But then I try to find a way to fix the problem they've pointed out in a different way. If you really aren't sure, if something just feels wrong and you can't articulate why or if you can't decide whether something would be better or worse as suggested, you can try opening a second document and making the change there, then compare it to the original and see how it works. Or you can get a second opinion and at least talk it through. Sometimes the process of talking it through enables you to see things more clearly. I have heard of rare cases in which an author wasn't willing to make an editor's requested changes and the editor then refused to publish the book, but I've never had an editor be unreasonable with me when I've discussed why her suggestions wouldn't work and proposed something else that would address her concerns. I suspect those rare cases involve authors flouncing at the very idea of altering their great works of art, not authors and editors disagreeing but working on finding a mutually agreeable resolution.
There are also times when even a professional is just plain wrong. They have the same foibles writers do -- pet words that come up way too often, getting sidetracked and missing a detail, skipping words accidentally, etc. You need to learn to recognize these things in other people's work as well as in your own so you don't incorporate other people's errors into your work.
I always do another read-through after making suggested revisions to make sure it still works for me. If I can spot the places things have been changed, that's a bad sign because it means things aren't flowing. Also make sure that things you change don't have a ripple effect and force changes elsewhere -- if you delete a line or scene, you have to also delete references to that line or scene.
The thing you need to remember -- and the reason I'm not totally on board with the idea that everyone absolutely must have someone else read your work -- is that anyone you give your work to for critique is human and therefore fallible. Even professional editors can make mistakes or make suggestions that would be bad for your book. I've had very good editors, and they've all at some point made suggestions that would have been fatal to the book if I'd followed them. Nobody knows or understands your story like you do, and ultimately, it is your book. Professionals may also disagree with each other because they have different opinions of what works. Learning to discern what suggestions to take and how to use the feedback you're given may be even more difficult than editing your own work. Accepting every suggestion you're given because you assume that the person giving feedback knows more than you is just as bad as refusing to accept feedback because you know your work is perfect the way it is.
Here are some ways I deal with feedback from editors, my agent or beta readers:
First, seriously consider each suggestion. You may need to take some time to scoff at it and get the sense of being insulted out of your system, but do this in private, not on Facebook or Twitter.
Consider whether the suggestion is definitively right or wrong -- is it based on something incorrect like a fact or grammar or does it violate a rule you've established for your fictional world? Would making this correction create an error?
If it would be an error, are you dealing with an incorrect assumption somewhere -- you didn't lay out the rules of your fictional world as clearly as you thought you did or your fact is little-known and the common knowledge (that most of your readers will be working from) is in error?
Would making the suggested change alter your intended meaning? If so, can you see why the change was suggested (perhaps your writing was too wordy or something else was unclear) and make a different change to accomplish that while maintaining your intended meaning? I often find that "wrong" suggestions result from me not being clear elsewhere.
Do suggested edits fit your voice or your characters' voices? That one word may take the place of several and tighten things up nicely, but it won't work if it's not a word your character would use.
Are suggested plot changes consistent with your characters, the situation you've established, the rules of your fictional world and with the tone of your story?
If I decide not to accept a suggestion, I make myself defend my decision. I may even do so out loud, as though I'm talking to the person who made the suggestion. This is not a writing phase I suggest doing in a coffee shop. For big changes suggested by editors, I've been known to write essays explaining why I can't do what they suggested. But then I try to find a way to fix the problem they've pointed out in a different way. If you really aren't sure, if something just feels wrong and you can't articulate why or if you can't decide whether something would be better or worse as suggested, you can try opening a second document and making the change there, then compare it to the original and see how it works. Or you can get a second opinion and at least talk it through. Sometimes the process of talking it through enables you to see things more clearly. I have heard of rare cases in which an author wasn't willing to make an editor's requested changes and the editor then refused to publish the book, but I've never had an editor be unreasonable with me when I've discussed why her suggestions wouldn't work and proposed something else that would address her concerns. I suspect those rare cases involve authors flouncing at the very idea of altering their great works of art, not authors and editors disagreeing but working on finding a mutually agreeable resolution.
There are also times when even a professional is just plain wrong. They have the same foibles writers do -- pet words that come up way too often, getting sidetracked and missing a detail, skipping words accidentally, etc. You need to learn to recognize these things in other people's work as well as in your own so you don't incorporate other people's errors into your work.
I always do another read-through after making suggested revisions to make sure it still works for me. If I can spot the places things have been changed, that's a bad sign because it means things aren't flowing. Also make sure that things you change don't have a ripple effect and force changes elsewhere -- if you delete a line or scene, you have to also delete references to that line or scene.
March 5, 2013
Ideas
I was wrong. I didn't immediately come up with an idea for another book in the series as soon as I posted that I had no more ideas. It could still happen, but if I hadn't given the last book a good ending, I'd probably be panicking.
But I do still have story ideas swirling around in my head. I have sequels for a couple of the things I've been working on. I have another YA steampunky thing I'm dying to write that will take a lot of research. I have the one I'll probably work on next that's been living in my head for more than 20 years. I have another one I want to revisit that's been living in my head even longer than that (I figure if an idea lasts that long, it's probably a good one). And then I came up with a new thing a few nights ago that's suddenly started developing and adding flesh. It at first seemed to be a straightforward historical romance, which is weird because I don't do that sort of thing, but then I realized that one of the characters was a secret agent (maybe both of them?), and I think the bad guy might be an evil wizard they have to stop. I suspect this all grew from that gothic urge. The new steampunk YA started from the gothic place but ended up not really going there, mostly because my Mr. Rochester turned into the Scarlet Pimpernel (only his cover is as a nerd rather than a fop), and that kept things from getting properly atmospheric. But I think with this idea, the Mr. Rochester is actually the villain, which I think I could pull off, and our heroine in the flowing white nightgown is the agent spying on him from within his house, so she's stuck in the spooky, dangerous house. But it will be a while before I let myself even think about writing it, and I'm not even sure how I'd market it. Depending on how it comes out, it may be too romancey for the fantasy houses, but it would be a total one-off to do it as a historical romance, since I'm not likely to hit my core audience there and the odds of me coming up with another one are slim.
Idea-wise, I may be in a 19th century rut at the moment. I don't seem to be coming up with contemporary stories. The fun thing about now being officially a steampunk author is that I can indulge my penchant for Victoriana. Keeping my hair really long now counts as a business decision, since it means I can put it up in all those fun Victorian styles for public appearances. I can buy hats to wear at conventions. I think even the pros dress up and join the fun at steampunk conventions, so I get to make and wear Victorian clothes. As a YA author, I'll probably be doing a lot of school and library talks, which means visual aids. This year I may finally get around to steampunking my already rather Victorian Christmas decorations.
The other nice thing about selling a book is that I can relax a little about money. It's not really what most people would consider life-changing money, but compared to the past few years, it is changing my life. I've been on pretty extreme austerity measures. I started making money late last year from the self-published books, and that's done very well for me, but it's not guaranteed income. I never know from one month to the next what I'll make. With this, I already know a minimum of what I'll earn this year. For the first time in years, I can let myself spend money on something other than necessities. Not that I'm going to go crazy, but I'll finally get my garbage disposal repaired, get the dishwasher replaced, get the ceiling fan replaced and get new glasses.
Yes, an author's life is so very glamorous.
But I didn't get around to much celebrating (or anything else) yesterday. I was so drained as to be useless. I managed to wash some dishes and respond to some e-mails, and that was about it. I did get my blanket started and have a few inches knitted, after some bad starts in which I was somehow messing up the pattern before the pattern was established enough for me to tell I was messing up. Once I got going, though, it became a bit easier.
But I do still have story ideas swirling around in my head. I have sequels for a couple of the things I've been working on. I have another YA steampunky thing I'm dying to write that will take a lot of research. I have the one I'll probably work on next that's been living in my head for more than 20 years. I have another one I want to revisit that's been living in my head even longer than that (I figure if an idea lasts that long, it's probably a good one). And then I came up with a new thing a few nights ago that's suddenly started developing and adding flesh. It at first seemed to be a straightforward historical romance, which is weird because I don't do that sort of thing, but then I realized that one of the characters was a secret agent (maybe both of them?), and I think the bad guy might be an evil wizard they have to stop. I suspect this all grew from that gothic urge. The new steampunk YA started from the gothic place but ended up not really going there, mostly because my Mr. Rochester turned into the Scarlet Pimpernel (only his cover is as a nerd rather than a fop), and that kept things from getting properly atmospheric. But I think with this idea, the Mr. Rochester is actually the villain, which I think I could pull off, and our heroine in the flowing white nightgown is the agent spying on him from within his house, so she's stuck in the spooky, dangerous house. But it will be a while before I let myself even think about writing it, and I'm not even sure how I'd market it. Depending on how it comes out, it may be too romancey for the fantasy houses, but it would be a total one-off to do it as a historical romance, since I'm not likely to hit my core audience there and the odds of me coming up with another one are slim.
Idea-wise, I may be in a 19th century rut at the moment. I don't seem to be coming up with contemporary stories. The fun thing about now being officially a steampunk author is that I can indulge my penchant for Victoriana. Keeping my hair really long now counts as a business decision, since it means I can put it up in all those fun Victorian styles for public appearances. I can buy hats to wear at conventions. I think even the pros dress up and join the fun at steampunk conventions, so I get to make and wear Victorian clothes. As a YA author, I'll probably be doing a lot of school and library talks, which means visual aids. This year I may finally get around to steampunking my already rather Victorian Christmas decorations.
The other nice thing about selling a book is that I can relax a little about money. It's not really what most people would consider life-changing money, but compared to the past few years, it is changing my life. I've been on pretty extreme austerity measures. I started making money late last year from the self-published books, and that's done very well for me, but it's not guaranteed income. I never know from one month to the next what I'll make. With this, I already know a minimum of what I'll earn this year. For the first time in years, I can let myself spend money on something other than necessities. Not that I'm going to go crazy, but I'll finally get my garbage disposal repaired, get the dishwasher replaced, get the ceiling fan replaced and get new glasses.
Yes, an author's life is so very glamorous.
But I didn't get around to much celebrating (or anything else) yesterday. I was so drained as to be useless. I managed to wash some dishes and respond to some e-mails, and that was about it. I did get my blanket started and have a few inches knitted, after some bad starts in which I was somehow messing up the pattern before the pattern was established enough for me to tell I was messing up. Once I got going, though, it became a bit easier.
March 4, 2013
All Good Things ...
After a flurry of weekend editing, Book 7 of the Enchanted, Inc. series, currently called Kiss and Spell, is off to the Japanese publisher.
And we've lined up the cover artist and copyeditor for the English release. The targeted release date is May 17. Things may come up to change that, but that date gives us some cushion. It will be like the last two books, in various electronic formats and in paperback, but I'm hoping we can get the paper release closer to the e-book release date.
Now for the slightly bittersweet part of this news. It's likely that this will be the last Enchanted Inc. book for the time being. I started realizing this as I wrote the end of the first draft. Normally by that point, I already have a sense of what the next book will be, to the point that it's difficult to revise the book because I keep thinking about the next one. But this time, I didn't. Because of that, I wrapped up the loose ends instead of leaving things hanging and wrote the end as though I'm ending the series. (And I LOVE the ending.)
However, I didn't kill all the characters or do anything I'd have to undo if another idea came to me, so if I get inspired later I can always do another book. But I think I'd be okay with it if this is the end. Seven books is a pretty long series, and I think it's best to stop before I start hating it or before the quality slips. I think this book is fun and clever and romantic, and I'm very proud of it, so I think I'd be ending on a high note. These characters are usually very pushy, nagging at me to tell more stories about them, even while I'm working on other things, and now they're strangely silent, so perhaps they're content with the way I left them.
And lest anyone resent the new book as a shiny new toy taking me away from my earlier series, I wrote two Enchanted, Inc. books after writing the initial draft of it, so that book didn't kill the series. It's just that for the first time in about a decade, none of the many ideas swirling around in my head are for this series, and I don't even have any concepts I want to play with that I can map onto this series.
Of course, now that I've written this, I'll probably suddenly be hit by an idea that I absolutely MUST write. Though I discussed this with my agent last week, and nothing has hit me since then. Every time I try to think of these characters, it won't go beyond the last scene in this book.
First, though, I'm going to let myself celebrate the new sale. It was in the works for so long that I never really had the definitive "I sold a book!" excitement. I usually buy something fun (shoes most often) to celebrate a sale, so I need to go shopping. And then I need to make my house livable again and catch up on a bunch of business-type stuff before I plunge into another book.
And we've lined up the cover artist and copyeditor for the English release. The targeted release date is May 17. Things may come up to change that, but that date gives us some cushion. It will be like the last two books, in various electronic formats and in paperback, but I'm hoping we can get the paper release closer to the e-book release date.
Now for the slightly bittersweet part of this news. It's likely that this will be the last Enchanted Inc. book for the time being. I started realizing this as I wrote the end of the first draft. Normally by that point, I already have a sense of what the next book will be, to the point that it's difficult to revise the book because I keep thinking about the next one. But this time, I didn't. Because of that, I wrapped up the loose ends instead of leaving things hanging and wrote the end as though I'm ending the series. (And I LOVE the ending.)
However, I didn't kill all the characters or do anything I'd have to undo if another idea came to me, so if I get inspired later I can always do another book. But I think I'd be okay with it if this is the end. Seven books is a pretty long series, and I think it's best to stop before I start hating it or before the quality slips. I think this book is fun and clever and romantic, and I'm very proud of it, so I think I'd be ending on a high note. These characters are usually very pushy, nagging at me to tell more stories about them, even while I'm working on other things, and now they're strangely silent, so perhaps they're content with the way I left them.
And lest anyone resent the new book as a shiny new toy taking me away from my earlier series, I wrote two Enchanted, Inc. books after writing the initial draft of it, so that book didn't kill the series. It's just that for the first time in about a decade, none of the many ideas swirling around in my head are for this series, and I don't even have any concepts I want to play with that I can map onto this series.
Of course, now that I've written this, I'll probably suddenly be hit by an idea that I absolutely MUST write. Though I discussed this with my agent last week, and nothing has hit me since then. Every time I try to think of these characters, it won't go beyond the last scene in this book.
First, though, I'm going to let myself celebrate the new sale. It was in the works for so long that I never really had the definitive "I sold a book!" excitement. I usually buy something fun (shoes most often) to celebrate a sale, so I need to go shopping. And then I need to make my house livable again and catch up on a bunch of business-type stuff before I plunge into another book.
March 1, 2013
Drumroll, Please!
Finally, after a long wait, here's the big announcement I've been hinting at:
YOUNG ADULT: FANTASY
Author of the Enchanted Inc. series, Shanna Swendson's debut YA in which a young governess in an alternate 19th century New York finds herself caught up in a budding revolution when she's recruited by a group of mechanically minded rebels to spy on her employers in the magical ruling class, in a nice deal, to Margaret Ferguson at Margaret Ferguson Books, by Kristin Nelson at Nelson Literary Agency.
That's the official version. This is that YA steampunk fantasy I've mentioned a couple of time and that I've read from at a few conventions. Apparently "steampunk" is something of a touchy subject in publishing (there have been a few hits, but the rest hasn't done as well as they hoped), so they avoided that term in announcing it. But really, this is probably one of those most pure "steampunk" books you're going to find because it really is about a group of steampunks -- or, in terms of the book, Rebel Mechanics. To rebel against a magical ruling class, they need technology, so they build it. And they also dress like steampunks, making their own rules for Victorian-esque clothing. I even came up with a plot reason for sticking gears on everything, since that's the emblem of their movement. I sometimes refer to this book as "Jane Eyre meets the Scarlet Pimpernel in a steampunk 1880s New York."
This book has been an exercise in persistence, both writing and selling it. I first came up with the idea in the fall of 2009. I love the steampunk esthetic, and I'm into Victoriana, so I liked the idea of it, but hadn't quite found the book that embodied what I wanted it to be, and I hadn't come up with an idea for a steampunk book. Then as I was working on something else, I found myself gazing at my bookcase, and I saw very close together my copy of Jane Eyre and a Madeleine Brent book. Jane Eyre is, of course, a classic gothic, and Madeleine Brent wrote gothic-esque romantic adventures. Then I decided that's what my book needed to be. That idea collided with an idea fragment I'd had when snarking about a literary trope, and the story idea built gradually over the next year, based on all sorts of little bits and pieces. I read about 60 books to research this one -- non-fiction books on the era, on steam engines, on airships, on clothing, on various aspects of society. Novels written during the era, to get a feel for the language (I tried to write in a sort of pastiche of 19th century first-person). Plus, it's an alternate history in which the American Revolution doesn't happen until the late 1800s, so I had to research the real American Revolution to find the patterns that might repeat.
I was finally ready to start writing in the fall of 2010. My agent loved it and said if she couldn't sell it, she'd eat her hat. She started shopping it around to fantasy publishers, and none of them "got" it. Or else they said they were overbought on steampunk, and it wasn't doing as well as they hoped. Sometime the next year, it occurred to me that my main characters were pretty young, and I could make them just a little younger and I'd have a young adult book. My rebels were already all college students. So I revised the entire thing to make it a young adult book, which I think ended up making it a better book because it was tighter and faster-paced, and I also didn't have to worry about finding the fine line between fantasy and romance. I could just let it be what it wanted to be. We had discussed whether I could turn it into a romance, but I did some market research reading there (reading even more books) and concluded that I'd be happier doing it as YA.
So then it went back out onto the market, and the response was better, but kind of heartbreaking because there was a lot of "we love it, but we can't publish it" kind of stuff. On the second round of submission, an editor snatched it up. And the rest, I hope, will be history. It's currently set for a 2015 release, so I'll have plenty of time to talk about this book and what went into it before it hits the shelves (in hardcover!).
I guess you can tell from what I went through to sell this book that I love it with an intense, fiery passion. If it hadn't sold, I was going to self publish it because I believe in it that strongly. I've seen the way audiences respond to it when I read from it at conventions, so I believe that if people discover it, they'll like it as much as I do. Now I have a couple of years to work to make sure absolutely everyone is dying to get their hands on this book so my new editor and I can do the "Ha! So there!" dance to the rest of the publishing world.
And now I have even more news that I think I'll save for Monday because I've got a lot of intense work to do today.
I also need some steampunky/Victorian LJ icons. Any suggestions or offerings?
YOUNG ADULT: FANTASY
Author of the Enchanted Inc. series, Shanna Swendson's debut YA in which a young governess in an alternate 19th century New York finds herself caught up in a budding revolution when she's recruited by a group of mechanically minded rebels to spy on her employers in the magical ruling class, in a nice deal, to Margaret Ferguson at Margaret Ferguson Books, by Kristin Nelson at Nelson Literary Agency.
That's the official version. This is that YA steampunk fantasy I've mentioned a couple of time and that I've read from at a few conventions. Apparently "steampunk" is something of a touchy subject in publishing (there have been a few hits, but the rest hasn't done as well as they hoped), so they avoided that term in announcing it. But really, this is probably one of those most pure "steampunk" books you're going to find because it really is about a group of steampunks -- or, in terms of the book, Rebel Mechanics. To rebel against a magical ruling class, they need technology, so they build it. And they also dress like steampunks, making their own rules for Victorian-esque clothing. I even came up with a plot reason for sticking gears on everything, since that's the emblem of their movement. I sometimes refer to this book as "Jane Eyre meets the Scarlet Pimpernel in a steampunk 1880s New York."
This book has been an exercise in persistence, both writing and selling it. I first came up with the idea in the fall of 2009. I love the steampunk esthetic, and I'm into Victoriana, so I liked the idea of it, but hadn't quite found the book that embodied what I wanted it to be, and I hadn't come up with an idea for a steampunk book. Then as I was working on something else, I found myself gazing at my bookcase, and I saw very close together my copy of Jane Eyre and a Madeleine Brent book. Jane Eyre is, of course, a classic gothic, and Madeleine Brent wrote gothic-esque romantic adventures. Then I decided that's what my book needed to be. That idea collided with an idea fragment I'd had when snarking about a literary trope, and the story idea built gradually over the next year, based on all sorts of little bits and pieces. I read about 60 books to research this one -- non-fiction books on the era, on steam engines, on airships, on clothing, on various aspects of society. Novels written during the era, to get a feel for the language (I tried to write in a sort of pastiche of 19th century first-person). Plus, it's an alternate history in which the American Revolution doesn't happen until the late 1800s, so I had to research the real American Revolution to find the patterns that might repeat.
I was finally ready to start writing in the fall of 2010. My agent loved it and said if she couldn't sell it, she'd eat her hat. She started shopping it around to fantasy publishers, and none of them "got" it. Or else they said they were overbought on steampunk, and it wasn't doing as well as they hoped. Sometime the next year, it occurred to me that my main characters were pretty young, and I could make them just a little younger and I'd have a young adult book. My rebels were already all college students. So I revised the entire thing to make it a young adult book, which I think ended up making it a better book because it was tighter and faster-paced, and I also didn't have to worry about finding the fine line between fantasy and romance. I could just let it be what it wanted to be. We had discussed whether I could turn it into a romance, but I did some market research reading there (reading even more books) and concluded that I'd be happier doing it as YA.
So then it went back out onto the market, and the response was better, but kind of heartbreaking because there was a lot of "we love it, but we can't publish it" kind of stuff. On the second round of submission, an editor snatched it up. And the rest, I hope, will be history. It's currently set for a 2015 release, so I'll have plenty of time to talk about this book and what went into it before it hits the shelves (in hardcover!).
I guess you can tell from what I went through to sell this book that I love it with an intense, fiery passion. If it hadn't sold, I was going to self publish it because I believe in it that strongly. I've seen the way audiences respond to it when I read from it at conventions, so I believe that if people discover it, they'll like it as much as I do. Now I have a couple of years to work to make sure absolutely everyone is dying to get their hands on this book so my new editor and I can do the "Ha! So there!" dance to the rest of the publishing world.
And now I have even more news that I think I'll save for Monday because I've got a lot of intense work to do today.
I also need some steampunky/Victorian LJ icons. Any suggestions or offerings?
February 28, 2013
Snake Wrestling and Child Wrangling
It's a good thing I decided to practice with the circular knitting needles. The nylon cable connecting the needles kept trying to spring back into the shape it had been forced into by the packaging, so it was like trying to knit while wrestling a snake. Knit one, BOINNNNNGGGG, retrieve the stitch that flew off the needle, forcibly hold the needles steady in order to knit the next stitch, BOINNNNGGGG, you get the idea. The tension got really crazy from wrestling the needles into submission, so the stitches were very uneven, and then I'd lose my place in the pattern. I imagine the needles will actually be more under control with the full 151 stitches on them, but it will also help to let the cable relax a little out of the package.
I do rather like the idea of these needles because they're so easily weaponized. They're the perfect combination of pointy things plus a garrote. When I become an unlikely elderly superspy, this will be my weapon of choice. I'll only look like a harmless knitting granny.
But I'm on deadline, so I won't start my blanket until maybe the weekend.
On the kindergarten front, my schemes seem to be working. They actually requested Beethoven. Well, technically, they requested "the thunderstorm music," which is the tempest movement from the Pastoral symphony, but hey, they can call it what they like as long as they're getting some appreciation for classical music. We were busy pretending to be birds flying through a storm when the organist walked by the open door of the room. And yes, I was being a bird, too. Fortunately, she has small children, so she understood. We also started learning about Palm Sunday, and then one girl insisted on reading the sheet music for that song over my shoulder, with me pointing out where we were on the song. I wanted to encourage her interest, but I also had a room full of other kids I needed to deal with while the other teacher was out dealing with a kid who'd gone to the bathroom and fallen in and needed dry clothes.
I will not be giving up my writing career to become a full-time kindergarten teacher anytime soon.
On the up side, one of the kids baked cookies with her mom that day, and they brought me some. Then I sat with several of my girls at dinner, which was highly entertaining because they're just so strange. There's a lot I get about them, but then there's just some stuff that must come from some alien place in their psyche.
Kindergarten teacher may be out, but child psychology could be fun.
I do rather like the idea of these needles because they're so easily weaponized. They're the perfect combination of pointy things plus a garrote. When I become an unlikely elderly superspy, this will be my weapon of choice. I'll only look like a harmless knitting granny.
But I'm on deadline, so I won't start my blanket until maybe the weekend.
On the kindergarten front, my schemes seem to be working. They actually requested Beethoven. Well, technically, they requested "the thunderstorm music," which is the tempest movement from the Pastoral symphony, but hey, they can call it what they like as long as they're getting some appreciation for classical music. We were busy pretending to be birds flying through a storm when the organist walked by the open door of the room. And yes, I was being a bird, too. Fortunately, she has small children, so she understood. We also started learning about Palm Sunday, and then one girl insisted on reading the sheet music for that song over my shoulder, with me pointing out where we were on the song. I wanted to encourage her interest, but I also had a room full of other kids I needed to deal with while the other teacher was out dealing with a kid who'd gone to the bathroom and fallen in and needed dry clothes.
I will not be giving up my writing career to become a full-time kindergarten teacher anytime soon.
On the up side, one of the kids baked cookies with her mom that day, and they brought me some. Then I sat with several of my girls at dinner, which was highly entertaining because they're just so strange. There's a lot I get about them, but then there's just some stuff that must come from some alien place in their psyche.
Kindergarten teacher may be out, but child psychology could be fun.
